The William L. Hutcheson Memorial Forest is a 500-acre (200 ha) natural preserve at 2150 Amwell Rd.

[1] The area that includes the 65-acre (26 ha) virgin old growth forest earlier known as Mettler's Woods was acquired from the local Lenape by Dutch settlers in 1701.

In 1955, after the wood's owner, Thomas Mettler, considered selling the property, the Citizen's Scientific and Historical Committee for the Preservation of Mettler's Woods raised funds from a variety of sources, including a significant contribution from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America to purchase it.

It was turned over to the care of Rutgers University and The Nature Conservancy after being named for the union’s recent president, William L. Hutcheson.

Franklin Township and the New Jersey Green Acres Program have also worked in partnership with the caretakers to help preserve and protect this locally rare and important natural resource.